Jimmy Savile, above, will be the subject of questions MPs are to put to the BBC director general, George Entwistle. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA

The BBC director general is expected to appear in front of MPs next week to take questions on the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal and the circumstances surrounding a decision by the editor of Newsnight to drop an investigation into the late BBC presenter towards the end of last year.

George Entwistle has offered to appear in front of the culture, media and sport select committee next week, its chairman, John Whittingdale, told the House of Commons after an urgent question was raised about the Savile scandal. Whittingdale added that the committee would make time to accommodate the BBC boss's request.

Maria Miller, the culture secretary, who opened the debate, said the Savile allegations were horrifying and said that she had spoken to Entwistle last Friday about the steps the broadcaster was taking. "From these conversations," Miller said, "I am confident that the BBC and the [BBC] Trust are taking the allegations very seriously indeed."

She went on to list the independent inquiries already announced by Entwistle live on television on Friday and raised eyebrows when she said that one of those inquiries would look at the circumstances surrounding the "inappropriately pulled" Newsnight investigation into Savile.

Winding up her opening statement, Miller added that these were "undoubtedly very serious matters which have wide ranging implications for a number of public institutions not just the BBC". But she rejected concerns raised by Conservative MP Rob Wilson that there should be a wider inquiry, independent of the BBC, into the affair, saying that there was "a police investigation going on" and that it was important that "that investigation can go on unfettered".

Miller also dismissed calls for the Leveson inquiry into press practices to be extended to investigate the Savile scandal. "Extending the scope of Leveson at the moment would result in a delay which I don't think anybody would like to see on that particular inquiry," she said.

Shortly afterwards the Department of Culture, Media and Sport clarified remarks Miller made in the Commons statement about the Newsnight investigation into Savile being "inappropriately pulled", saying she was not reflecting her own belief as to what happened regarding the film. A spokesperson said that the first part of her sentence demonstrated that she was referring to allegations that the film was dropped for corporate reasons.

Miller said in her statement that the first of the BBC's inquiries "will look particularly at the allegations with regards to the item on Savile, which was inappropriately pulled from Newsnight".

The department then released the text Miller actually intended to read out, demonstrating that she had slipped up slightly in the delivery. Miller was supposed to say: "The first review [by the BBC] will look into the allegations that an item on Savile was inappropriately pulled from Newsnight."

It said in a statement: "The secretary of state has not prejudged the outcome of the BBC's investigation into the pulling of a Newsnight item on Savile. As the secretary of state made clear in the house, it is for the BBC, not ministers, to investigate these allegations."

Labour leader Ed Miliband has called for an independent inquiry into the allegations of systematic child abuse by Jimmy Savile, saying he did not think a BBC-led inquiry would "do right by the victims".

Speaking on ITV's Agenda programme on Monday night, he said: "I think we need a broader look at these public institutions – the BBC, I'm afraid some parts of the NHS, potentially, Broadmoor. I'm open-minded about how it's done but it's got to be independent ... I'm a great supporter of the BBC but I don't think you can have the BBC board sort of leading its own inquiry."

He added: "I just thought today about that man who was nine at the time, now in his 40s. What is doing justice by him? Doing justice by him is knowing that the institution where this happened and potentially where people knew that at least something was going on, where something wasn't quite right, doesn't lead its own inquiry, but it's led by the outside.

"What happened? Who knew what when. Why it didn't come out? Was there awareness of this culture? And what are the lessons for the future?

"I think we now have enough set of allegations and further allegations to know this is not some isolated set of incidents. This seems to be a pattern of activity which spanned a number of institutions. As I say, I just think about the victims in this. This is absolutely horrific and will scar people for life. And I think for them, the BBC – good institution though it is – I don't think they can lead their own inquiry."

A government spokesperson said: "Nothing has been ruled out. However, it would be incredibly premature to pre-judge the outcome of the two BBC inquiries and the police investigation."

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